Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Technical glitches and
sanctions that have delayed Iran ’s nuclear
program give the U.S. and its partners more time
to exert pressure without resorting to military
action, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
“As we say, all options are on the table and we
prepare for all options,” Gates said today in an
interview with Bloomberg Television during a
visit to China. “But I think that if we have bought
some additional time, that it does give greater
opportunity to the political-economic strategy.”
The defense chief also praised the Chinese
government for its “constructive” role in trying to
restrain North Korean belligerence. The Obama
administration has been pushing China to rein in
its communist ally after two attacks on South
Korea last year killed 50 people.
China and the U.S. “have a common interest,
going forward, in trying to get ahead of these
provocations, prevent them from happening
again in the future and put the relationship
between the North and the South on a more
positive track, ” Gates said.
The U.S. has aimed for years to persuade leaders
in Tehran to give up development of technology
that could produce a nuclear weapon. The
Obama administration last year won support
from China, Russia and the European Union to
intensify financial and economic sanctions.
Possible Sabotage
Reports indicate that possible sabotage has
hindered Iran ’s efforts to enrich uranium, a
process necessary to produce an atomic bomb.
Iran last month began reducing three-decade-old
energy subsidies worth as much as $50 billion as
restrictions from the United Nations, the U.S. and
Europe took their toll.
The possible delays won’t hurt U.S. efforts to
keep up the pressure on Iran, Gates said.
Sanctions are “evidence of the international
community’s belief that these kinds of pressures
are the best way to deal with this problem,” he
said.
Israel’s outgoing head of intelligence, Meir Dagan,
said last week Iran wouldn’t be able to produce a
nuclear weapon before 2015, three or four years
later than earlier Israeli estimates. U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton yesterday cited the effect of
sanctions and technical problems.
“Their program from our best estimate has been
slowed down, so we have time, but not a lot of
time, ” Clinton said at a town hall meeting at Abu
Dhabi’s Zayed University.
Suspected Sabotage
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said
Nov. 29 that several centrifuges used to enrich
uranium were affected by malicious computer
software. Symantec Corp., the world ’s largest
maker of computer security software, said in a
Nov. 12 study that the Stuxnet virus may have
been created to sabotage Iran.
Iran’s leaders say their program is meant for
peaceful means, including power generation and
medical research.
Gates is in the midst of a three-day stop in
Beijing, where he is seeking to improve military
ties with China and support for U.S. efforts to
curb Iran and North Korea ’s nuclear programs.
China’s top foreign policy official, Councilor Dai
Bingguo, last month met with North Korea leader
Kim Jong Il, whose regime on Jan. 8 called for
unconditional talks with South Korea to ease
tensions. South Korean President Lee Myung
Bak ’s government has yet to agree and in
December threatened a more immediate and
severe response to attacks, including air raids.
‘A Sea Change’
“There’s been a sea change in attitude on the part
of the South Koreans in terms of their willingness
to tolerate these kinds of provocations, ” Gates
said.
He is due to meet President Hu Jintao later today
after holding talks with Defense Minister Liang
Guanglie and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Liang yesterday agreed to consider a proposal to
begin regular strategic security talks, a year after
China cut military relations to protest U.S. arms
sales to Taiwan. Liang didn ’t commit to a
timeframe for starting such talks nor for reaching
agreement on a structure for more regular
contacts.
Hu will visit the U.S. next week, where his
schedule will include a Jan. 19 state dinner at the
White House. Hu and U.S. President Barack
Obama have tasked their militaries with
establishing more regular dialogue to reduce the
risk of miscalculation that could escalate into a
crisis.
Source: Http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-11/iran-nuclear-delays-defer-military-action-gates-says.html
sanctions that have delayed Iran ’s nuclear
program give the U.S. and its partners more time
to exert pressure without resorting to military
action, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
“As we say, all options are on the table and we
prepare for all options,” Gates said today in an
interview with Bloomberg Television during a
visit to China. “But I think that if we have bought
some additional time, that it does give greater
opportunity to the political-economic strategy.”
The defense chief also praised the Chinese
government for its “constructive” role in trying to
restrain North Korean belligerence. The Obama
administration has been pushing China to rein in
its communist ally after two attacks on South
Korea last year killed 50 people.
China and the U.S. “have a common interest,
going forward, in trying to get ahead of these
provocations, prevent them from happening
again in the future and put the relationship
between the North and the South on a more
positive track, ” Gates said.
The U.S. has aimed for years to persuade leaders
in Tehran to give up development of technology
that could produce a nuclear weapon. The
Obama administration last year won support
from China, Russia and the European Union to
intensify financial and economic sanctions.
Possible Sabotage
Reports indicate that possible sabotage has
hindered Iran ’s efforts to enrich uranium, a
process necessary to produce an atomic bomb.
Iran last month began reducing three-decade-old
energy subsidies worth as much as $50 billion as
restrictions from the United Nations, the U.S. and
Europe took their toll.
The possible delays won’t hurt U.S. efforts to
keep up the pressure on Iran, Gates said.
Sanctions are “evidence of the international
community’s belief that these kinds of pressures
are the best way to deal with this problem,” he
said.
Israel’s outgoing head of intelligence, Meir Dagan,
said last week Iran wouldn’t be able to produce a
nuclear weapon before 2015, three or four years
later than earlier Israeli estimates. U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton yesterday cited the effect of
sanctions and technical problems.
“Their program from our best estimate has been
slowed down, so we have time, but not a lot of
time, ” Clinton said at a town hall meeting at Abu
Dhabi’s Zayed University.
Suspected Sabotage
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said
Nov. 29 that several centrifuges used to enrich
uranium were affected by malicious computer
software. Symantec Corp., the world ’s largest
maker of computer security software, said in a
Nov. 12 study that the Stuxnet virus may have
been created to sabotage Iran.
Iran’s leaders say their program is meant for
peaceful means, including power generation and
medical research.
Gates is in the midst of a three-day stop in
Beijing, where he is seeking to improve military
ties with China and support for U.S. efforts to
curb Iran and North Korea ’s nuclear programs.
China’s top foreign policy official, Councilor Dai
Bingguo, last month met with North Korea leader
Kim Jong Il, whose regime on Jan. 8 called for
unconditional talks with South Korea to ease
tensions. South Korean President Lee Myung
Bak ’s government has yet to agree and in
December threatened a more immediate and
severe response to attacks, including air raids.
‘A Sea Change’
“There’s been a sea change in attitude on the part
of the South Koreans in terms of their willingness
to tolerate these kinds of provocations, ” Gates
said.
He is due to meet President Hu Jintao later today
after holding talks with Defense Minister Liang
Guanglie and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Liang yesterday agreed to consider a proposal to
begin regular strategic security talks, a year after
China cut military relations to protest U.S. arms
sales to Taiwan. Liang didn ’t commit to a
timeframe for starting such talks nor for reaching
agreement on a structure for more regular
contacts.
Hu will visit the U.S. next week, where his
schedule will include a Jan. 19 state dinner at the
White House. Hu and U.S. President Barack
Obama have tasked their militaries with
establishing more regular dialogue to reduce the
risk of miscalculation that could escalate into a
crisis.
Source: Http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-11/iran-nuclear-delays-defer-military-action-gates-says.html
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